Search results for: Tarek Farah

Authors: Tarek Litim, Ouahiba Taamallah

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Burnishing is a mechanical surface treatment that combines several beneficial effects on the two steel grades studied. The application of burnishing to the ball or to the tip favors a better roughness compared to turning. In addition, it allows the consolidation of the surface layers through work hardening phenomena. The optimal effects are closely related to the treatment parameters and the active part of the device. With an improvement of 78% on the roughness, burnishing can be defined as a finishing operation in the machining range. With a 44% gain in consolidation rate, this treatment is an effective process for material consolidation. These effects are affected by several factors. The factors V, f, P, r, and i have the most significant effects on both roughness and hardness. Ball or tip burnishing leads to the consolidation of the surface layers of both grades 100C6 and 16NC6 steels by work hardening. For each steel grade and its mechanical treatment, the rational tensile curve has been drawn. Lüdwick's law is used to better plot the work hardening curve. For both grades, a material hardening law is established. For 100C6 steel, these results show a work hardening coefficient and a consolidation rate of 0.513 and 44, respectively, compared to the surface layers processed by turning. When 16NC6 steel is processed, the work hardening coefficient is about 0.29. Hardness tests characterize well the burnished depth. The layer affected by work hardening can reach up to 0.4 mm. Simulation of the tests is of great importance to provide the details at the local scale of the material. Conventional tensile curves provide a satisfactory indication of the toughness of 100C6 and 16NC6 materials. A simulation of the tensile curves revealed good agreement between the experimental and simulation results for both steels.

Keywords: 100C6 steel, 16NC6 steel, burnishing, work hardening, roughness, hardness

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Authors: Mohamed A. Hammad, Dzul Azri Mohamed Noor, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Abeer Kharshid, Nor Azizah Aziz, Tarek M. Elsayed

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Medication safety is always an issue. In 2015, the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau released a statement requesting all statins manufacturers in Malaysia to include the risk of diabetes information in the drug information leaflet in response to United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) report. However, the data regarding this warning label in Malaysia is limited, so there is still some uncertainty whether such risk can also be observed in the Malaysian population or not. The study aims to determine the effect of statins on HbA1c% in type 2 diabetic outpatients in endocrine clinics at Hospital Pulau Pinang between June 2015 and May 2016 in Malaysia. In a prospective cohort study, records of 400 type 2 diabetic patients (control group 104 patients not using statin and treatment group 296 patients using statin) were reviewed to identify demographic criteria and lab tests. The prevalence of glycemic control (Glycated hemoglobin, HbA1C ≤ 7% for patient < 65 years, and < 8% for patient ≥ 65 years) was estimated, according to American Diabetes Association guidelines 2015. The results were presented as descriptive statistics. From 296 patients with Type 2 diabetes using statins cohort with a mean age of 57.52 ± 12.2 years, only 81 (27.4%) cases had controlled glycemia, and 215 (72.6%) had uncontrolled glycemia, CI: 95% (6.3–11.1). While the control group 104 diabetic patients had a mean age 46.1 ± 18 years and distributed among 59 (56.7%) patients with controlled diabetes and 45 (43.3%) cases, had uncontrolled glycemia, CI: 95% (5.2–10.3). The relative risk (RR) of uncontrolled glycemia in diabetic patients used statins was 1.68, and the excessive relative risk (ERR) was 68%. The absolute risk (AR) was 29.3%, and the number needed to harm (NNH) was 4. Diabetic patients using statins have more risk of uncontrolled glycemia than the patients with Type 2 diabetes non-using statins.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, HbA1c, Malaysia, outpatients, statin, type 2, uncontrolled glycemia

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Authors: Assabo Mohamed, Bile Mohamed, Ali Farah, Isman Souleiman, Olga Alos Ramos, Marie Cadet

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The life of a nuclear power plant is regularly punctuated by short or long period outages to carry out maintenance operations and/or nuclear fuel reloading. During these stops periods, it is essential to conserve all the secondary circuit equipment to avoid corrosion priming. This kind of circuit is one of the main components of a nuclear reactor. Indeed, the conservation materials on shutdown of a nuclear unit improve circuit performance and reduce the maintenance cost considerably. This study is a part of the optimization of the dry preservation of equipment from the water station of the nuclear reactor. The main objective is to provide tools to guide Electricity Production Nuclear Centre (EPNC) in order to achieve the criteria required by the chemical specifications of conservation materials. A theoretical model of drying exchangers of water station is developed by the software Engineering Equation Solver (EES). It used to size requirements and air quality needed for dry conservation of equipment. This model is based on heat transfer and mass transfer governing the drying operation. A parametric study is conducted to know the influence of aerothermal factor taking part in the drying operation. The results show that the success of dry conservation of equipment of the secondary circuit of nuclear reactor depends strongly on the draining, the quality of drying air and the flow of air injecting in the secondary circuit. Finally, theoretical case study performed on EES highlights the importance of mastering the entire system to balance the air system to provide each exchanger optimum flow depending on its characteristics. From these results, recommendations to nuclear power plants can be formulated to optimize drying practices and achieve good performance in the conservation of material from the water at the stop position.

Keywords: dry conservation, optimization, sizing, water station

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Authors: Attef Kouadria, Yehya Bouteghrine, Amar Manaa, Tarek Mouats, Djalel Eddine Tria, Hamid Abdelhafid Ghouti

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Personal protection systems have been used in several forms for centuries. The need for light-weight composite structures has been in great demand due to their weight and high mechanical properties ratios in comparison to heavy and cumbersome steel plates. In this regard, lighter ceramic plates with a backing plate made of high strength polymeric fibers, mostly aramids, are widely used for protection against ballistic threats. This study aims to improve the ballistic performance of ceramic/composite plates subjected to ballistic impact by reducing the back face deformation (BFD) measured after each test. A new hybridization technique was developed in this investigation to increase the energy absorption capabilities of the backing plates. The hybridization consists of combining different types of aramid fabrics with different linear densities of aramid fibers (Dtex) and areal densities with an epoxy resin to form the backing plate. Therefore, several composite structures architectures were prepared and tested. For better understanding the effect of the hybridization, a serial of tensile, compression, and shear tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties of the homogeneous composite materials prepared from different fabrics. It was found that the hybridization allows the backing plate to combine between the mechanical properties of the used fabrics. Aramid fabrics with higher Dtex were found to increase the mechanical strength of the backing plate, while those with lower Dtex found to enhance the lateral wave dispersion ratio due to their lower areal density. Therefore, the back face deformation was significantly reduced in comparison to a homogeneous composite plate.

Keywords: aramid fabric, ballistic impact, back face deformation, body armor, composite, mechanical testing

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Authors: Asmaa Hamdy, Israa Nassar, Tarek Aly

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Introduction: Femoral fractures are the most common presentation in the Emergency Department (ED), and they can present as isolated injuries or as part of a polytrauma situation. To provide optimum pain management care to these patients, practitioners must be well prepared and current with utilizing modern evidence-based knowledge and practices. Management of pain associated with fracture femur in the emergency department has a critical role in the satisfaction of patients and preventing further complications. This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block compared with intravenous fentanyl in fractures of the femur in patients presented to the Emergency Department. Patients and Methods: Fifty patients with femur fractures were divided into two groups: Group A: In this group (twenty-five patients) were given intravenous fentanyl 2 micro-grams/kg and re-assessed for pain by Visual Analogue Score (VAS). Group B: In this group (twenty-five patients) underwent ultrasonography-guided femoral nerve block and were re-assessed for pain by VAS. Results: VAS score on the movement of the fractured limb between group A and group B at a 10-minute post-intervention period shows P= 0.043, and hence the difference is significant. VAS score on the movement of the fractured limb between group A and group B during a 10-minute post-intervention period showed a significant difference. Seventeen patients in group A had major PID with a percentage of 63% VS 10 patients in group B with a percentage of 37%. conclusion: both femoral nerve block and intravenous fentanyl are effective in relieving pain in patients with femur fractures. But femoral nerve block provides better and more intense analgesia and major pain intensity difference in less time. Moreover, the use of FNB had fewer side effects and more Hemodynamics stability compared to opioids.

Keywords: femur fracture, nerve block, fentanyl, ultrasound guided

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Authors: Ghorbeli Eya, Naija Lamia, Khessairi Nayssem, Saadallah Fatma, Slimane Maher, Tarek Ben Dhiab

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INTRODUCTION: Borderline ovarian tumors account for 15 to 20% of ovarian tumors. Prognostic factors of recurrence include the stage of the disease, presence of peritoneal implants, micropapillary pattern, microinvasion and intra-epithelial carcinoma. Fertility sparing constitutes a major therapeutic issue in young patients that leads to conservative surgical treatment in specific cases. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study including patients treated at the Salah Azaiez Institute for Borderline Ovarian Tumor who underwent conservative surgical treatment from 2003 to 2018. RESULTS: Nine patients were included in our study. The median age was 33 years. Three patients were nulliparous. Given the age, conservative treatment was indicated in all these patients. Cystectomy without ovariectomy was indicated in 5 of the 9 women, which was within the margin of tumor resection on definitive anatomopathic examination in 3 of the 5 women. In contrast, given the impossibility of ovarian conservation, total annexectomy was carried out in 4 of all these women. All of the patients were followed regularly postoperatively; three had a carcinomatous transformation as an ovarian adenocarcinoma at an average interval of 18 months. Among these three patients, a single one presented intra-peritoneal metastases, requiring radical surgical treatment and adjuvant chemotherapy with 6 cures of Carbo-Taxol, with a good tolerance and a complete response. Moreover, one patient had a recurrence on the contralateral ovary as a Borderline mucinous ovarian tumor. For the remaining four women, after a median follow-up of 35 months, one patient fell spontaneously pregnant during follow-up, and three patients were in complete remission at 16 months. CONCLUSION: Borderline tumors of the ovary usually occur in young patients, which makes conservative treatment advisable if possible, but this always comes with a risk of recurrence and/or carcinomatous transformation, especially if the conservative surgical procedure was a cystectomy instead of a total annexectomy, and even more so if the resection margins were tumoral.

Keywords: ovarian tumor, conservative treatment, surgical management, borderline ovarian tumor, recurrence management

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Authors: Yifat Koren Carmi, Abed Agbarya, Hazem Khamaisi, Raymond Farah, Yelena Shechtman, Roman Korobochka, Jacob Gopas, Jamal Mahajna

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Ovarian cancer (OC), the second most common form of gynecological malignancy, has a poor prognosis and is frequently identified in its late stages. The recommended treatment for OC typically includes a platinum-based chemotherapy, like carboplatin. Nonetheless, OC treatment has proven challenging due to toxicity and development of acquired resistance to therapy. Chemoresistance is a significant obstacle to a long-lasting response in OC patients, believed to arise from alterations within the cancer cells as well as within the tumor microenvironments (TME). Malignant ascites is a presenting feature in more than one-third of OC patients. It serves as a reservoir for a complex mixture of soluble factors, metabolites, and cellular components, providing a pro-inflammatory and tumor-promoting microenvironment for the OC cells. Malignant ascites is also associated with metastasis and chemoresistance. In an attempt to elucidate the role of TME in chemoresistance of OC, we monitored the ability of soluble factors derived from ascites fluids to affect platinum sensitivity of OC cells. This research, compared ascites fluids from non-malignant cirrhotic patients to those from OC patients in terms of their ability to alter the platinum sensitivity of OC cells. Our findings indicated that exposure to OC ascites induces platinum chemoresistance on OC cells in 11 out of 13 cases (85%). In contrast, 75% of cirrhosis ascites (3 out of 4) failed to confer platinum chemoresistance to OC cells. Cytokine array analysis revealed that IL-6, and to a lesser extent HGF were enriched in OC ascites, whereas IL-22 was enriched in cirrhosis ascites. Pharmaceutical inhibitors that target the IL-6/JAK signaling pathway were mildly effective in overcoming the platinum chemoresistance induced by malignant ascites. In contrast, Crizotinib an HGF/c-MET inhibitor, and 2-hydroxyestradiol (2HE2) were effective in restoring platinum chemoresistance to OC. Our findings demonstrate the importance of OC ascites in supporting platinum chemoresistance as well as the potential of a combination therapy with Crizotinib and the estradiol metabolite 2HE2 to regain OC cells chemosensitivity.

Keywords: ovarian cancer, platinum chemoresistance, malignant ascites, tumor microenvironment, IL-6, 2-hydroxyestradiol, HGF, crizotinib

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Authors: Farah Naja, Mohamad Alameddine

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Background: The difficulty of compliance to therapeutic and lifestyle management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) encourages patients to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Little is known about the prevalence and mode of CAM use among diabetics in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in general and Lebanon in particular. Objective: To assess the prevalence and modes of CAM use among patients with T2DM residing in Beirut, Lebanon. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of T2DM patients was conducted on patients recruited from two major referral centers - a public hospital and a private academic medical center in Beirut. In a face-to-face interview, participants completed a survey questionnaire comprised of three sections: socio-demographic, diabetes characteristics and types and modes of CAM use. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were utilized to assess the prevalence, mode and correlates of CAM use in the study population. The main outcome in this study (CAM use) was defined as using CAM at least once since diagnosis with T2DM. Results: A total of 333 T2DM patients completed the survey (response rate: 94.6%). Prevalence of CAM use in the study population was 38%, 95% CI (33.1-43.5). After adjustment, CAM use was significantly associated with a “married” status, a longer duration of T2DM, the presence of disease complications, and a positive family history of the disease. Folk foods and herbs were the most commonly used CAM followed by natural health products. One in five patients used CAM as an alternative to conventional treatment. Only 7 % of CAM users disclosed the CAM use to their treating physician. Health care practitioners were the least cited (7%) as influencing the choice of CAM among users. Conclusion: The use of CAM therapies among T2DM patients in Lebanon is prevalent. Decision makers and care providers must fully understand the potential risks and benefits of CAM therapies to appropriately advise their patients. Attention must be dedicated to educating T2DM patients on the importance of disclosing CAM use to their physicians especially patients with a family history of diabetes, and those using conventional therapy for a long time.

Keywords: nutritional supplements, type 2 diabetes mellitus, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), conventional therapy

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Authors: Atitallah Sofien, Bouyahia Olfa, Krifi farah, Missaoui Nada, Ben Rabeh Rania, Yahyaoui Salem, Mazigh Sonia, Boukthir Samir

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Introduction: Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn (SCFN) is a rare acute hypodermatitis characterized by skin lesions in the form of infiltrated, hard plaques and subcutaneous nodules, with a purplish-red color, occurring between the first and sixth week of life. SCFN is generally a benign condition that spontaneously regresses without sequelae, but it can be complicated by severe hypercalcemia. Methodology: This is a retrospective case report of neonatal subcutaneous fat necrosis complicated with severe hypercalcemia and nephrocalcinosis. Results: This is a case of a female newborn with a family history of a hypothyroid mother on Levothyrox, born to non-consanguineous parents and from a well-monitored pregnancy. The newborn was delivered by cesarean section at 39 weeks gestation due to severe preeclampsia. She was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at 1 hour of life for the management of grade 1 perinatal asphyxia and immediate neonatal respiratory distress related to transient respiratory distress. Hospitalization was complicated by a healthcare-associated infection, requiring intravenous antibiotics for ten days, with a good clinical and biological response. On the 20th day of life, she developed skin lesions in the form of indurated purplish-red nodules on the back and on both arms. A SCFN was suspected. A calcium level test was conducted, which returned a result of 3 mmol/L. The rest of the phosphocalcic assessment was normal, with early signs of nephrocalcinosis observed on renal ultrasound. The diagnosis of SCFN complicated by nephrocalcinosis associated with severe hypercalcemia was made, and the condition improved with intravenous hydration and corticosteroid therapy. Conclusion: SCFN is a rare and generally benign hypodermatitis in newborns with an etiology that is still poorly understood. Despite its benign nature, SCFN can be complicated by hypercalcemia, which can sometimes be life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to conduct a thorough skin examination of newborns, especially those with risk factors, to detect and correct any potential hypercalcemia.

Keywords: subcutaneous fat necrosis, newborn, hypercalcemia, nephrocalcinosis

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Authors: Tarek Duzan

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Fractures are a fundamental property of most reservoirs. Despite their abundance, they remain difficult to detect and quantify. The most effective characterization of fractured reservoirs is accomplished by integrating geological, geophysical, and engineering data. Detection of fractures and defines their relative contribution is crucial in the early stages of exploration and later in the production of any field. Because fractures could completely change our thoughts, efforts, and planning to produce a specific field properly. From the structural point of view, all reservoirs are fractured to some point of extent. North Gialo field is thought to be a naturally fractured reservoir to some extent. Historically, natural fractured reservoirs are more complicated in terms of their exploration and production efforts, and most geologists tend to deny the presence of fractures as an effective variable. Our aim in this paper is to determine the degree of fracturing, and consequently, our evaluation and planning can be done properly and efficiently from day one. The challenging part in this field is that there is no enough data and straightforward well testing that can let us completely comfortable with the idea of fracturing; however, we cannot ignore the fractures completely. Logging images, available well testing, and limited core studies are our tools in this stage to evaluate, model, and predict possible fracture effects in this reservoir. The aims of this study are both fundamental and practical—to improve the prediction and diagnosis of natural-fracture attributes in N. Gialo hydrocarbon reservoirs and accurately simulate their influence on production. Moreover, the production of this field comes from 2-phase plan; a self depletion of oil and then gas injection period for pressure maintenance and increasing ultimate recovery factor. Therefore, well understanding of fracturing network is essential before proceeding with the targeted plan. New analytical methods will lead to more realistic characterization of fractured and faulted reservoir rocks. These methods will produce data that can enhance well test and seismic interpretations, and that can readily be used in reservoir simulators.

Keywords: natural fracture, sandstone reservoir, geological, geophysical, and engineering data

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Authors: Toumi Farah, Charallah Salima

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In the Algerian Sahara, goat farming is predominant, and it’s associated with other types of breeding, particularly camel and sheep; it also constitutes a significant proportion of breeding exclusively goat. This Saharan goat is a small ruminant with a black dress with white’s spots, hanging ears, and a coat more or less long. It is known for its hardiness and resistance to adverse conditions of arid zones and its perfect ecophysiological adaptation to harsh environmental conditions. However, pregnancy alterations, particularly abortion, degrade its productivity and cause economic losses, having both direct and indirect effects on animal production, like the costs of veterinary interventions and the reconstitution of livestock. The purpose of this work is to study the histological aspect of the liver of goats’ aborted living under nomadic herds in the region of Béni-Abbès (30° 7' N, 2° 10 'O). The organs were collected in physiological serum, rinsed, and then fixed with formaldehyde (37°, diluted at 10%). After that, these samples were processed for a topographic study. The morphometric study of the liver was performed by using an image analysis and processing software "Image J"; the various measurements obtained are intended to specify the supposed stage of development according to the body weight. The histological structure of the liver shows that the hepatic parenchyma consists of vascular conjunctive spaces surrounded by Glisson’s capsule. The sinusoids and hepatic portal vein are full of red blood cells, representing sinusoidal congestion and a thrombosed vein. At high magnification, the blood vessels show the presence of vascular thrombosis and haemorrhage in some areas of the hepatic parenchyma. Morphometric analysis shows that the number of liver parenchymal cells and the diameter of liver vessels vary according to the stage of development. The results obtained will provide details of the anatomical and cellular elements that can be used in the diagnosis of early or late abortion and late embryonic death. It would be interesting to find, by immunohistochemistry, some inflammatory markers useful for monitoring the progress of pregnancy and bioindicators of fetomaternal distress.

Keywords: aborting goat, arid zone, liver, histopathology

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Authors: Abdulaziz F. Ettir, Ghait Bashir, Tarek S. Duzan

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A proper well planning is very vital to achieve any successful drilling program on the basis of preventing, overcome all drilling problems and minimize cost operations. Since the hydraulic system plays an active role during the drilling operations, that will lead to accelerate the drilling effort and lower the overall well cost. Likewise, an improperly designed hydraulic system can slow drill rate, fail to clean the hole of cuttings, and cause kicks. In most cases, common sense and commercially available computer programs are the only elements required to design the hydraulic system. Drilling optimization is the logical process of analyzing effects and interactions of drilling variables through applied drilling and hydraulic equations and mathematical modeling to achieve maximum drilling efficiency with minimize drilling cost. In this paper, practical software adopted in this paper to define drilling optimization models including four different optimum keys, namely Opti-flow, Opti-clean, Opti-slip and Opti-nozzle that can help to achieve high drilling efficiency with lower cost. The used data in this research from vertical and horizontal wells were recently drilled in Waha Oil Company fields. The input data are: Formation type, Geopressures, Hole Geometry, Bottom hole assembly and Mud reghology. Upon data analysis, all the results from wells show that the proposed program provides a high accuracy than that proposed from the company in terms of hole cleaning efficiency, and cost break down if we consider that the actual data as a reference base for all wells. Finally, it is recommended to use the established Optimization calculations software at drilling design to achieve correct drilling parameters that can provide high drilling efficiency, borehole cleaning and all other hydraulic parameters which assist to minimize hole problems and control drilling operation costs.

Keywords: optimum keys, namely opti-flow, opti-clean, opti-slip and opti-nozzle

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Authors: Tarek Duzan, Walid Esayed

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Fluid flow in porous media is attributed fundamentally to parameters that are controlled by depositional and post-depositional environments. After deposition, digenetic events can act negatively on the reservoir and reduce the effective porosity, thereby making the rock less permeable. Therefore, exploiting hydrocarbons from such resources requires partially altering the rock properties to improve the long-term production rate and enhance the recovery efficiency. In this study, we try to address, firstly, the phenomena of permeability reduction in tight sandstone reservoirs and illustrate the implemented procedures to investigate the problem roots; finally, benchmark the candidate solutions at the field scale and recommend the mitigation strategy for the field development plan. During the study, two investigations have been considered: subsurface analysis using ( PLT ) and Laboratory tests for four candidate wells of the interested reservoir. Based on the above investigations, it was obvious that the Production logging tool (PLT) has shown areas of contribution in the reservoir, which is considered very limited, considering the total reservoir thickness. Also, Alcohol treatment was the first choice to go with for the AA9 well. The well productivity has been relatively restored but not to its initial productivity. Furthermore, Alcohol treatment in the lab was effective and restored permeability in some plugs by 98%, but operationally, the challenge would be the ability to distribute enough alcohol in a wellbore to attain the sweep Efficiency obtained within a laboratory core plug. However, the Second solution, which is based on fracking wells, has shown excellent results, especially for those wells that suffered a high drop in oil production. It is suggested to frac and pack the wells that are already damaged in the Waha field to mitigate the damage and restore productivity back as much as possible. In addition, Critical fluid velocity and its effect on fine sand migration in the reservoir have to be well studied on core samples, and therefore, suitable pressure drawdown will be applied in the reservoir to limit fine sand migration.

Keywords: alcohol treatment, post-depositional environments, permeability, tight sandstone

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Authors: Tarek Elnimr, Reda Morsy, Assem El Fert, Aziza Ismail

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Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Disease caused by the hepatitis virus, the virus can cause hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness. A growing body of evidence indicates that many trace elements play important roles in a number of carcinogenic processes that proceed with various mechanisms. To examine the status of trace elements during the development of hepatic carcinoma, we determined the iron, copper, zinc and selenium levels in some biological samples of patients at different stages of viral hepatic disease. We observed significant changes in the iron, copper, zinc and selenium levels in the biological samples of patients hepatocellular carcinoma, relative to those of healthy controls. The mean hair, nail, RBC, serum and whole blood copper levels in patients with hepatitis virus were significantly higher than that of the control group. In contrast the mean iron, zinc, and selenium levels in patients having hepatitis virus were significantly lower than those of the control group. On the basis of this study, we identified the impact of natural supplements to improve the treatment of viral liver damage, using the level of some trace elements such as, iron, copper, zinc and selenium, which might serve as biomarkers for increases survival and reduces disease progression. Most of the elements revealed diverse and random distribution in the samples of the donor groups. The correlation study pointed out significant disparities in the mutual relationships among the trace elements in the patients and controls. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis of the element data manifested diverse apportionment of the selected elements in the scalp hair, nail and blood components of the patients compared with the healthy counterparts.

Keywords: hepatitis, hair, nail, blood components, trace element, nutrition therapy, multivariate analysis, correlation, ICP-MS

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Authors: Hoda M. Eid, Abir Nachar, Farah Thong, Gary Sweeney, Pierre S. Haddad

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Caffeic acid methyl ester (CAME) and caffeic ethyl esters (CAEE) were previously reported to potently stimulate glucose uptake in cultured C2C12 skeletal muscle cells via insulin-independent mechanisms involving the activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In the present study, we investigated the effect of the two compounds on the translocation of glucose transporter GLUT4 in L6 skeletal muscle cells. The cells were treated with the optimum non-toxic concentration (50 µM) of either CAME or CAEE for 18 h. Levels of GLUT4myc at the cell surface were measured by O-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPD) assay. The effects of CAME and CAEE on GLUT1 and GLUT4 protein content were also measured by western immunoblot. Our results show that CAME and CAEE significantly increased glucose uptake, GLUT4 translocation and GLUT4 protein content. Furthermore, the effect of the two CA esters on two insulin-sensitive cell lines: H4IIE rat hepatoma and 3T3-L1 adipocytes were investigated. CAME and CAEE reduced the enzymatic activity of the key hepatic gluconeogenic enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, they exerted a concentration-dependent antiadipogenic effect on 3T3-L1 cells. Mitotic clonal expansion (MCE), a prerequisite for adipocytes differentiation was also concentration-dependently inhibited. The two compounds abrogated lipid droplet accumulation, blocked MCE and maintained cells in fibroblast-like state when applied at the maximum non-toxic concentration (100 µM). In addition, the expression of the early key adipogenic transcription factors CCAAT enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBP-β) and the master regulator of adipogenesis peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) were inhibited. We, therefore, conclude that CAME and CAEE exert pleiotropic benefits in several insulin-sensitive cell lines through insulin-independent mechanisms involving AMPK, hence they may treat obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, GLUT4, Akt, AMPK.

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Authors: Yasmine Aridi, Lara Nasreddine, Maya Khalil, Arafat Tfayli, Anas Mugharbel, Farah Naja

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Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer site among women worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer mortality. Breast cancer rates differ vastly between geographical areas, countries, and within the same country. In Lebanon, the proportion of breast cancer to all other sites of tumor is 38.2%; these rates are still lower than those observed worldwide, but remain the highest among Arab countries. Studies and evidence based reviews show a strong association between breast cancer development and prognosis and dietary habits, specifically the Mediterranean diet (MD). As such, the aim of this study is to examine dietary patterns and adherence to the MD among a sample of 182 breast cancer female patients in Beirut, Lebanon. Subjects were recruited from two major hospitals; a private medical center and a public hospital. All subjects were administered two questionnaires: socio- demographics and Mediterranean diet adherence. Five Mediterranean scores were calculated: MS, MSDPS, PMDI, PREDIMED and DDS. The mean age of the participants was 53.78 years. The overall adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) was low since the sample means of 3 out of the 5 calculated scores were less than the scores’ medians. Given that 4 out of the 5 Mediterranean scores significantly varied between the recruitment sites, women in the private medical center were found to adhere more to the MD. Our results also show that the majority of the sample population’s intakes are exceeding the recommendations for total and saturated fat, while meeting the requirements for fiber, EPA, DHA and Linolenic Acid. Participants in the private medical center were consuming significantly more calories, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, Lycopene, Calcium, Iron and Folate and less fat. After conducting multivariate linear regression analyses, the following significant results were observed: positive associations between MD (CPMDI, PREDIMED) and monthly income & current state of health, while negative associations between MD (MSDPS, PREDIMED) and age & employment status. Our findings indicated a low overall adherence to the MD and identified factors associated with it; which suggests a need to address dietary habits among BC patients in Lebanon, specifically encouraging them to adhere to their traditional Mediterranean diet.

Keywords: Adherence, Breast cancer, Dietary patterns, Mediterranean diet, Nutrition

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Authors: Shahid Mahmood, Ghulam Mueen-Ud-Din, Farah Naz Akbar, Yousaf Quddoos, Syeda Mahvish Zahra, Wajiha Saeed, Tayyaba Sami Ullah

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Obesity is an epidemic across the globe that affects all the segments of the population. Physical inactivity, passionate consumption of junk food, inadequate water intake and an unhealthy lifestyle are evident among university girls that are ruining their health gravely especially fat accumulation. The study was carried out to investigate the potential etiological factors of obesity development in university girls. The cross sectional study was carried out after approval of the Departmental Review Committee for Ethics (DRCE) as the par Declaration of Helsinki at Institute of Food Science and Nutrition (IFSN), University of Sargodha, Sargodha-Pakistan and Department of Food Science and Home Economics, G. C. Women University, Faisalabad-Pakistan. 400 girls were selected randomly from different departments of both universities. Nutritional status of the volunteers was assessed through approved protocols for demographics, anthropometrics, body composition, energetics, vital signs, clinical signs and symptoms, medical/family history, and dietary intake assessment (FFQ), water intake and physical activity level. The obesity was determined on body fat (%). Alarming and unheeded etiological factors for the development of obesity in girls were explored by the study. About 93 % girls had a sedentary level of physical activity, zealous consumption of junk food (5.31±1.23 servings), drank little water (1.09±0.26 L/day) that consequent high heaps of fat (35.06±3.02 %), measly body water (52.38±3.4 %), poor bone mass (05.14±0.31 Kg), and high BMI (26.68±1.14 Kg/m²) in 34% girls. The malnutrition also depicted by poor vital signs i.e. low body temperature (97.11±0.93 °F), slightly higher blood pressure (124.19±4.08 / 85.25±2.97 mmHg), rapid pulse rate (99.2 ± 6.85 beats/min), reduced blood O₂ saturation (96.53±0.96 %), scanty peak expiratory flow rate (297 ± 15.7 L /min). The outcomes of the research articulated that physical inactivity; extreme intakes of junk food, insufficient water consumption are etiological factors for obesity development among girls which are usually overlooked in Pakistan.

Keywords: informed consent, junk food, obesity, physical inactivity

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Authors: Mohammad Tarek Al Muallim, Ozhan Duzenli, Ceyhun Ilguy

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Harbor protection systems are so important. The need for automatic protection systems has increased over the last years. Diver detection active sonar has great significance. It used to detect underwater threats such as divers and autonomous underwater vehicle. To automatically detect such threats the sonar image is processed by algorithms. These algorithms used to detect, track and classify of underwater objects. In this work, divers tracking and classification algorithm is improved be proposing a robust wake detection method. To detect objects the sonar images is normalized then segmented based on fixed threshold. Next, the centroids of the segments are found and clustered based on distance metric. Then to track the objects linear Kalman filter is applied. To reduce effect of noise and creation of false tracks, the Kalman tracker is fine tuned. The tuning is done based on our active sonar specifications. After the tracks are initialed and updated they are subjected to a filtering stage to eliminate the noisy and unstable tracks. Also to eliminate object with a speed out of the diver speed range such as buoys and fast boats. Afterwards the result tracks are subjected to a classification stage to deiced the type of the object been tracked. Here the classification stage is to deice wither if the tracked object is an open circuit diver or a close circuit diver. At the classification stage, a small area around the object is extracted and a novel wake detection method is applied. The morphological features of the object with his wake is extracted. We used support vector machine to find the best classifier. The sonar training images and the test images are collected by ARMELSAN Defense Technologies Company using the portable diver detection sonar ARAS-2023. After applying the algorithm to the test sonar data, we get fine and stable tracks of the divers. The total classification accuracy achieved with the diver type is 97%.

Keywords: harbor protection, diver detection, active sonar, wake detection, diver classification

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Authors: Nur Farah Ain Zainee, Ahmad Ismail, Nazlina Ibrahim, Asmida Ismail

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Seaweeds are economically important as they have the potential of being utilized, the capabilities and opportunities for further expansion as well as the availability of other species for future development. Hence, research on the diversity and distribution of seaweeds have to be expanded whilst the seaweeds are one of the Malaysian marine valuable heritage. The study on the distribution of seaweeds at Pengerang, Johor was carried out between February and November 2015 at Kampung Jawa Darat and Kampung Sungai Buntu. The study sites are located at the south-southeast of Peninsular Malaysia where the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Project Development (RAPID) are in progress. In future, the richness of seaweeds in Pengerang will vanish soon due to the loss of habitat prior to RAPID project. The research was completed to study the diversity of seaweed and to determine the present of fungal endophyte isolated from the seaweed. The sample was calculated by using quadrat with 25-meter line transect by 3 replication for each site. The specimen were preserved, identified, processed in the laboratory and kept as herbarium specimen in Algae Herbarium, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The complete thallus specimens for fungal endophyte screening were chosen meticulously, transferred into sterile zip-lock plastic bag and kept in the freezer for further process. A total of 29 species has been identified including 12 species of Chlorophyta, 2 species of Phaeophyta and 14 species of Rhodophyta. From February to November 2015, the number of species highly varied and there was a significant change in community structure of seaweeds. Kampung Sungai Buntu shows the highest diversity throughout the study compared to Kampung Jawa Darat. This evidence can be related to the high habitat preference such as types of shores which is rocky, sandy and having lagoon and bay. These can enhance the existence of the seaweeds community due to variations of the habitat. Eighteen seaweed species were selected and screened for the capability presence of fungal endophyte; Sargassum polycystum marked having the highest number of fungal endophyte compared to the other species. These evidence has proved the seaweed have capable of accommodating a lot of species of fungal endophytes. Thus, these evidence leads to positive consequences where further research should be employed.

Keywords: diversity, fungal endophyte, macroalgae, screening, seaweed

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Authors: Eslam Mohammed Abdelkader, Mohamed Marzouk, Tarek Zayed

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Infrastructure systems are crucial to every aspect of life on Earth. Existing Infrastructure is subjected to degradation while the demands are growing for a better infrastructure system in response to the high standards of safety, health, population growth, and environmental protection. Bridges play a crucial role in urban transportation networks. Moreover, they are subjected to high level of deterioration because of the variable traffic loading, extreme weather conditions, cycles of freeze and thaw, etc. The development of Bridge Management Systems (BMSs) has become a fundamental imperative nowadays especially in the large transportation networks due to the huge variance between the need for maintenance actions, and the available funds to perform such actions. Deterioration models represent a very important aspect for the effective use of BMSs. This paper presents a probabilistic time-based model that is capable of predicting the condition ratings of the concrete bridge decks along its service life. The deterioration process of the concrete bridge decks is modeled using semi-Markov process. One of the main challenges of the Markov Chain Decision Process (MCDP) is the construction of the transition probability matrix. Yet, the proposed model overcomes this issue by modeling the sojourn times based on some probability density functions. The sojourn times of each condition state are fitted to probability density functions based on some goodness of fit tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Anderson Darling, and chi-squared test. The parameters of the probability density functions are obtained using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). The condition ratings obtained from the Ministry of Transportation in Quebec (MTQ) are utilized as a database to construct the deterioration model. Finally, a comparison is conducted between the Markov Chain and semi-Markov chain to select the most feasible prediction model.

Keywords: bridge management system, bridge decks, deterioration model, Semi-Markov chain, sojourn times, maximum likelihood estimation

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Authors: Ayda Youssef, Tarek Rafaat, Iman zaky

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Purpose: Langerhans’ cell histiocytosis (LCH) is not uncommon pathology that implies aberrant proliferation of a specific dendritic (Langerhans) cell. These atypical but mature cells of monoclonal origin can infiltrate many sites of the body and may occur as localized lesions or as widespread systemic disease. Liver is one of the uncommon sites of affection. The twofold objective of this study is to illustrate the radiological presentation of this disease, and to compare these results with previously reported series. Methods and Materials: Between 2007 and 2012, 150 patients with biopsy-proven LCH were treated in our hospital, a paediatric cancer tertiary care center. A retrospective review of radiographic images and reports was performed. There were 33 patients with liver affection are stratified. All patients underwent imaging studies, mostly US and CT. A chart review was performed to obtain demographic, clinical and radiological data. They were analyzed and compared to other published series. Results: Retrospective assessment of 150 patients with LCH was performed, among them 33 patients were identified who had liver involvement. All these patients developed multisystemic disease; They were 12 females and 21 males with (n= 32), seven of them had marked hepatomegaly. Diffuse hypodense liver parenchyma was encountered in five cases, the periportal location has a certain predilection in cases of focal affection where three cases has a hypodense periportal soft tissue sheets, one of them associated with dilated biliary radicals, only one case has multiple focal lesions unrelated to portal tracts. On follow up of the patients, two cases show abnormal morphology of liver with bossy outline. Conclusion: LCH is a not infrequent disease. A high-index suspicion should be raised in the context of diagnosis of liver affection. A biopsy is recommended in the presence of radiological suspicion. Chemotherapy is the preferred therapeutic modality. Liver histiocytosis are not disease specific features but should be interpreted in conjunction with the clinical history and the results of biopsy. Clinical Relevance/Application: Radiologist should be aware of different patterns of hepatobiliary histiocytosis, Thus early diagnosis and proper management of patient can be conducted.

Keywords: langerhans’ cell histiocytosis, liver, medical and health sciences, radiology

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Authors: Tarek Soliman Mostafa Soliman Al-Nana'i

Abstract:

There are non-steady voiced augments in the Semitic languages, and in the morphological and structural augmentation, two sounds were augments in all Semitic languages at the level of the spoken language and two letters at the level of the written language, which are the hamza and the ta’. This research studies only the second of them; Therefore, we defined it as “The Voiceless Dental- alveolar common augment” (VDACA) to distinguish it from the glottal sound “Hamza”, first, middle, or last, in a noun or in a verb, in Arabic and its equivalent in the Semitic languages. What is meant by “VDACA” is the ta’ that is in addition to the root of the word at the morphological level: the word “voiceless” takes out the voiced sounds that we studied before, and the “dental- alveolar common augment” takes out the laryngeal sound of them, which is the “Hamza”: and the word “common” brings out the uncommon voiceless sounds, which are sīn, shīn, and hā’. The study is limited to the ta' alone among the Arabic sounds, and this title faced a problem in identifying it with the ta'. Because the designation of the ta is not the same in most Semitic languages. Hebrew, for example, has “tav” and is pronounced with the voiced fa (v), which is not in Arabic. It is called different names in other Semitic languages, such as “taw” or “tAu” in old Syriac. And so on. This goes hand in hand with the insistence on distance from the written level and the reference to the phonetic aspect in this study that is closely and closely linked to the morphological level. Therefore, the study is “morphophonemic”. What is meant by Semitic languages in this study are the following: Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Syriac, Mandaean, Ge'ez, and Amharic. The problem of the study is the agreement or difference between these languages in the position of that augment, first, middle, or last. And in determining the distinguishing characteristics of each language from the other. As for the study methodology, it is determined by the comparative approach in Semitic languages, which is based on the descriptive approach for each language. The study is divided into an introduction, four sections, and a conclusion: Introduction: It included the subject of the study, its importance, motives, problem, methodology, and division. The first section: VDACA as a non-common phoneme. The second: VDACA as a common phoneme. The third: VDACA as a functional morpheme. The fourth section: Commentary and conclusion with the most important results. The positions of VDACA in Arabic and other Semitic languages, and in nouns and verbs, were limited to first, middle, and last. The research identified the individual addition, which is common with other augments, and the research proved that this augmentation is constant in all Semitic languages, but there are characteristics that distinguish each language from the other.

Keywords: voiceless -, dental- alveolar, augment, Arabic - semitic languages

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Authors: Omaima A. Sharaf, Tarek A. Moussa, Said M. Badr El-Din, H. Moawad

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Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose great environmental and human health concerns for their widespread occurrence, persistence, and carcinogenic properties. PAHs releases due to anthropogenic activities to the wider environment have led to higher concentrations of these contaminants than would be expected from natural processes alone. This may result in a wide range of environmental problems that can accumulate in agricultural ecosystems, which threatened to become a negative impact on sustainable agricultural development. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical, and microbial properties of the compost leachate (CL) to assess its role as nutrient and microbial source (biostimulation/bioaugmentation) for developing a cost-effective bioremediation technology for PAHs contaminated sites. Material and Methods: PAHs-degrading bacteria were isolated from CL that was collected from a composting site located in central Scotland, UK. Isolation was carried out by enrichment using phenanthrene (PHR), pyrene (PYR) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as the sole source of carbon and energy. The isolates were characterized using a variety of phenotypic and molecular properties. Six different isolates were identified based on the difference in morphological and biochemical tests. The efficiency of these isolates in PAHs utilization was assessed. Further analysis was performed to define taxonomical status and phylogenic relation between the most potent PAHs-utilizing bacterial strains and other standard strains, using molecular approach by partial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Results indicated that the 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the results of biochemical identification, as both of biochemical and molecular identification of the isolates assigned them to Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Alcaligenes faecalis, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae and Providenicia which were identified as the prominent PAHs-utilizers isolated from CL. Conclusion: This study indicates that the CL samples contain a diverse population of PAHs-degrading bacteria and the use of CL may have a potential for bioremediation of PAHs contaminated sites.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, physico-chemical analyses, compost leachate, microbial and biochemical analyses, phylogenic relations, 16S rDNA sequence analysis

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Authors: Mohammad Tarek Al Muallim, Ozhan Duzenli, Ceyhun Ilguy

Abstract:

Passive sonar is a method for detecting acoustic signals in the ocean. It detects the acoustic signals emanating from external sources. With passive sonar, we can determine the bearing of the target only, no information about the range of the target. Target Motion Analysis (TMA) is a process to estimate the position and speed of a target using passive sonar information. Since bearing is the only available information, the TMA technique called Bearing-only TMA. Many TMA techniques have been developed. However, until now, there is not a very effective method that could be used to always track an unknown target and extract its moving trace. In this work, a design of effective Bearing-only TMA Algorithm is done. The measured bearing angles are very noisy. Moreover, for multi-beam sonar, the measurements is quantized due to the sonar beam width. To deal with this, modified gain extended Kalman filter algorithm is used. The algorithm is fine-tuned, and many modules are added to improve the performance. A special validation gate module is used to insure stability of the algorithm. Many indicators of the performance and confidence level measurement are designed and tested. A new method to detect if the target is maneuvering is proposed. Moreover, a reactive optimal observer maneuver based on bearing measurements is proposed, which insure converging to the right solution all of the times. To test the performance of the proposed TMA algorithm a simulation is done with a MATLAB program. The simulator program tries to model a discrete scenario for an observer and a target. The simulator takes into consideration all the practical aspects of the problem such as a smooth transition in the speed, a circular turn of the ship, noisy measurements, and a quantized bearing measurement come for multi-beam sonar. The tests are done for a lot of given test scenarios. For all the tests, full tracking is achieved within 10 minutes with very little error. The range estimation error was less than 5%, speed error less than 5% and heading error less than 2 degree. For the online performance estimator, it is mostly aligned with the real performance. The range estimation confidence level gives a value equal to 90% when the range error less than 10%. The experiments show that the proposed TMA algorithm is very robust and has low estimation error. However, the converging time of the algorithm is needed to be improved.

Keywords: target motion analysis, Kalman filter, passive sonar, bearing-only tracking

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Authors: Tarek K. Jalouta, Jolietta R. Holliman, Kathryn R. Burke, Kathleen M. Bewley-Thomas

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Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In the United States, HCV screening awareness, treatment, and linkage to care are under continues ascending progress. However, still millions of people are asymptomatically infected and undiagnosed yet. Through this community mission, we sought to identify the best and the newest strategies to identify those infected people to educate them, link them to care and cure them. Methods: We have identified patients that did not have a prior HCV screening in our Electronic medical record (EMR) including all our different hospital locations (South Suburban Chicago, Northern, Western and Central Indiana). Providing education to all Primary care/Gastroenterology/Infectious diseases providers and staff in the clinic to increase awareness of the HCV screening. Health-related quality of life, chronic clinical complications, and demographics data were collected for each patient. All outcomes of HCV antibody-reactive and HCV RNA–positive results were identified and statistically analyzed. Results: From July 2016 to July 2018 we screened 35,720 individuals of birth cohort in our different Franciscan’s health medical centers. Of the screened population, 986 (2.7%) individuals were HCV AB-reactive. Of those, 319 (1%) patients were HCV RNA-positive, and 264 patients were counseled and linked to providers. 34 patients initiated anti-HCV therapy with successful treatment. Conclusions: Our HCV screening augmentation project considered the largest screening program in the Midwest. Augmenting the HCV screening process through creating a Best Practice Alert (BPA) in the EMR (Epic Sys.) and point of care testing could be helpful. Although continued work is required, our team is working on increase screening through adding HCV test to CBC-Panels in Emergency Department settings, phone calls to all birth cohort individuals through Robo-Calling System aimed to reach 75,000 individuals by 2019. However, a better linkage to care and referral monitoring system to all HCV RNA positive patients is still needed, and access to therapy, especially for uninsured patients, is challenging.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis C treatment, chronic hepatitis C screening, chronic hepatitis C prevention, liver cancer

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Authors: Farah Amalina Mohamed Affandi, Redhwan Ahmad Al-Naggar, Seok Mui Wang, Thanikasalam Kathiresan

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Gestational choriocarcinoma is a condition in which there is an abnormal growth or a tumor inside the women’s uterus after conception. It is a type of gestational trophoblastic disease which is relatively rare and malignant. The current epidemiological data of this disease are inadequate. The purposes of this study are to examine the epidemiology of choriocarcinoma and their risk factors based on all available population-based and hospital-based data of the disease. In this study, we searched The MEDLINE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases using the keywords ‘choriocarcinoma’, ‘gestational’, ‘gestational choriocarcinoma’ and ‘epidemiology’. We included only human studies published in English between 1995 and 2015 to ensure up to date evidence. Case studies, case reports, animal studies, letters to the editor, news, and review articles were excluded. Retrieved articles were screened in three phases. In the first phase, any articles that did not match the inclusion criteria based solely on titles were excluded. In the second phase, the abstracts of remaining articles were screened thoroughly; any articles that did not meet our inclusion criteria were excluded. In the final phase, full texts of the remaining articles were read and assessed to exclude articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria or any articles that fulfilled the exclusion criteria. Duplicates articles were also removed. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis were excluded. Extracted data were summarized in table and figures descriptively. The reference lists of included studies were thoroughly reviewed in search for other relevant studies. A total of ten studies met all the selection criteria. Nine were retrospective studies and one was cohort study. Total numbers of 4563 cases of choriocarcinoma were reviewed from several countries which are Korea, Japan, South Africa, USA, New Mexico, Finland, Turkey, China, Brazil and The Netherlands. Different studies included different range of age with their mean age of 28.5 to 30.0 years. All studies investigated on the disease’s incidence rate, only two studies examined on the risk factors or associations of the disease. Approximately 20% of the studies showed a reduction in the incidence of choriocarcinoma while the other 80% showed inconsistencies in rate. Associations of age, fertility age, occupations and socio-demographic with the status remains unclear. There is limited information on the epidemiological aspects of gestational choriocarcinoma. The observed results indicated there was a decrease in the incidence rate of gestational choriocarcinoma globally. These could be due to the reduction in the incidence of molar pregnancy and the efficacy of the treatment, mainly by chemotherapy.

Keywords: epidemiology, gestational choriocarcinoma, incidence, prevalence, risk factor

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Authors: Farah Diab, Mohamad Khalil, Francesca Storace, Francesca Baldini, Piero Portincasaa, Giulio Lupidi, Laura Vergani

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Thymbra spicata is a thyme-like plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family that shows a global distribution, especially in the eastern Mediterranean region. Leaves of T. spicata contain large amounts of phenols such as phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid), phenolic monoterpenes (carvacrol), and flavonoids. In Lebanon, T. spicata is currently used as a culinary herb in salad and infusion, as well as for traditional medicinal purposes. Carvacrol (5-isopropyl-2-methyl phenol), the most abundant polyphenol in the organic extract and essential oils, has a great array of pharmacological properties. In fact, carvacrol is largely employed as a food additive and neutraceutical agent. Our aim is to investigate the beneficial effects of T. spicata ethanolic extract (TE) and its main component, carvacrol, using in vitro models of hepatic steatosis and endothelial dysfunction. As a further point, we focused on investigating if and how the binding of carvacrol to albumin, the physiological transporter for drugs in the blood, might be altered by the presence of high levels of fatty acids (FAs), thus impairing the carvacrol bio-distribution in vivo. For that reason, hepatic FaO cells treated with exogenous FAs such as oleate and palmitate mimic hepatosteatosis; endothelial HECV cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide are a model of endothelial dysfunction. In these models, we measured lipid accumulation, free radical production, lipoperoxidation, and nitric oxide release before and after treatment with carvacrol. The carvacrol binding to albumin with/without high levels of long-chain FAs was assessed by absorption and emission spectroscopies. Our findings show that both TE and carvacrol (i) counteracted lipid accumulation in hepatocytes by decreasing the intracellular and extracellular lipid contents in steatotic FaO cells; (ii) decreased oxidative stress in endothelial cells by significantly reducing lipoperoxidation and free radical production, as well as, attenuating the nitric oxide release; (ii) high levels of circulating FAs reduced the binding of carvacrol to albumin. The beneficial effects of TE and carvacrol on both hepatic and endothelial cells point to a nutraceutical potential. However, high levels of circulating FAs, such as those occurring in metabolic disorders, might hinder the carvacrol transport, bio-distribution, and pharmacodynamics.

Keywords: carvacrol, endothelial dysfunction, fatty acids, non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, serum albumin

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Authors: Tan Hui Ying Renee, Stella Rizalina Sasha, Farah Safdar Husain

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Introduction: Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT) is an effective drug indicated for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and as replacement therapy in women who undergo premature menopause. In 2020, less than 8.8% of perimenopausal Singaporean women are on hormonal therapy, as compared to the Western population, where up to 50% may be on MHT. Factors associated with MHT utilization have been studied from patient characteristics, but the impact of locally prescribing physicians resulting in low MHT utilization has yet to be evaluated. The aim of the study is to determine the level of knowledge physicians in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialty have and their attitudes toward MHT. We believe that knowledge of MHT is lacking and that negative attitudes towards MHT may influence its use and undermine the benefits MHT may have for women. This paper is a part of a larger study on Singaporean physicians’ knowledge and attitudes towards MHT. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study intended to assess the knowledge and attitudes of physicians toward Menopausal Hormone Therapy. An anonymous questionnaire was disseminated via institutional internal circulations to optimize reach to physicians who may prescribe MHT, particularly in the fields of Gynaecology, Family Medicine and Endocrinology. Responses were completed voluntarily. Physicians had the option for each question to declare that they were ‘unsure’ or that the question was ‘beyond their expertise’. 21 knowledge questions tested factual recall on indications, contraindications, and risks of MHT. The remaining 6 questions were clinical scenarios crafted with the intention of testing specific principles related to the use of MHT. These questions received face validation from experts in the field. 198 responses were collected, 79 of which were from physicians in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialty. The data will be statistically analyzed to investigate areas that can be improved to increase the overall benefits of MHT for the Singaporean population. Results: Preliminary results show that the prevailing factors that limit Singaporean gynecologists and obstetricians from prescribing MHT are a lack of knowledge of MHT and a lack of confidence in prescribing MHT. Risks and indications of MHT were not well known by many physicians, with the majority of the questions having more than 25% incorrect and ‘unsure’ as their reply. The clinical scenario questions revealed significant shortcomings in knowledge on how to navigate real-life challenges in MHT use, with 2 of 6 questions with more than 50% incorrect or ‘beyond their expertise’ as their reply. The portion of the questionnaire that investigated the attitudes of physicians showed that though a large majority believed MHT to be an effective drug, only 40.5% were confident in prescribing it. Conclusion: Physicians in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialty lack knowledge and confidence in MHT. Therefore, it is imperative to formulate solutions on both the individual and institutional levels to fill these gaps and ensure that MHT is used appropriately and prescribed to the patients who need it.

Keywords: menopause, menopause hormone therapy, physician factors, obstetrics and gynecology, menopausal symptoms, Singapore

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Authors: Faezeh Mosallat, Eric L. Bibeau, Tarek El Mekkawy

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Availability of a wide variety of renewable resources, such as large reserves of hydro, biomass, solar and wind in Canada provides significant potential to improve the sustainability of energy uses. As buildings represent a considerable portion of energy use in Canada, application of distributed solar energy systems for heating and cooling may increase the amount of renewable energy use. Parabolic solar trough systems have seen limited deployments in cold northern climates as they are more suitable for electricity production in southern latitudes. Heat production by concentrating solar rays using parabolic troughs can overcome the poor efficiencies of flat panels and evacuated tubes in cold climates. A numerical dynamic model is developed to simulate an installed parabolic solar trough facility in Winnipeg. The results of the numerical model are validated using the experimental data obtained from this system. The model is developed in Simulink and will be utilized to simulate a tri-generation system for heating, cooling and electricity generation in remote northern communities. The main objective of this simulation is to obtain operational data of solar troughs in cold climates as this is lacking in the literature. In this paper, the validated Simulink model is applied to simulate a solar assisted absorption cooling system along with electricity generation using organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and thermal storage. A control strategy is employed to distribute the heated oil from solar collectors among the above three systems considering the temperature requirements. This modeling provides dynamic performance results using real time minutely meteorological data which are collected at the same location the solar system is installed. This is a big step ahead of the current models by accurately calculating the available solar energy at each time step considering the solar radiation fluctuations due to passing clouds. The solar absorption cooling is modeled to use the generated heat from the solar trough system and provide cooling in summer for a greenhouse which is located next to the solar field. A natural gas water heater provides the required excess heat for the absorption cooling at low or no solar radiation periods. The results of the simulation are presented for a summer month in Winnipeg which includes the amount of generated electric power from ORC and contribution of solar energy in the cooling load provision

Keywords: absorption cooling, parabolic solar trough, remote community, validated model

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Authors: Nursyafiq Ali Shibramulisi, Nor Farah Fauzi, Nur Azniza Zawin Anuar, Nurul Atikah Azmi, Janice Hew Pei Fang

Abstract:

Background: Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) among dental personnel have been underestimated and under-reported worldwide and specifically in Malaysia. The problem will arise and progress slowly over time, as it results from accumulated injury throughout the period of work. Several risk factors, such as repetitive movement, static posture, vibration, and adapting poor working postures, have been identified to be contributing to WRMSD in dental practices. Dental personnel is at higher risk of getting this problem as it is their working nature and core business. This would cause pain and dysfunction syndrome among them and result in absence from work and substandard services to their patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional study involving 19 government dental clinics in Perak was done over the period of 3 months. Those who met the criteria were selected to participate in this study. Malay version of the Self-Reported Nordic Musculoskeletal Discomfort Form was used to identify the prevalence of WRMSD, while the intensity of pain in the respective regions was evaluated using a 10-point scale according to ‘Pain as The 5ᵗʰ Vital Sign’ by MOH Malaysia and later on were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, including mean and SD and median and IQR, were used for numerical data. Categorical data were described by percentage. Pearson’s Chi-Square Test and Spearman’s Correlation were used to find the association between the prevalence of WRMSD and other socio-demographic data. Results: 159 dentists, 73 dental therapists, 26 dental lab technicians, 81 dental surgery assistants, and 23 dental attendants participated in this study. The mean age for the participants was 34.9±7.4 and their mean years of service was 9.97±7.5. Most of them were female (78.5%), Malay (71.3%), married (69.6%) and right-handed (90.1%). The highest prevalence of WRMSD was neck (58.0%), followed by shoulder (48.1%), upper back (42.0%), lower back (40.6%), hand/wrist (31.5%), feet (21.3%), knee (12.2%), thigh 7.7%) and lastly elbow (6.9%). Most of those who reported having neck pain scaled their pain experiences at 2 out of 10 (19.5%), while for those who suffered upper back discomfort, most of them scaled their pain experience at 6 out of 10 (17.8%). It was found that there was a significant relationship between age and pain at neck (p=0.007), elbow (p=0.027), lower back (p=0.032), thigh (p=0.039), knee (p=0.001) and feet (p=0.000) regions. Job position also had been found to be having a significant relationship with pain experienced at the lower back (p=0.018), thigh (p=0.011), knee, and feet (p=0.000). Conclusion: The prevalence of WRMSD among dental personnel in Perak was found to be high. Age and job position were found to be having a significant relationship with pain experienced in several regions. Intervention programs should be planned and conducted to prevent and reduce the occurrence of WRMSD, as all harmful or unergonomic practices should be avoided at all costs.

Keywords: WRMSD, ergonomic, dentistry, dental

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